This invention relates generally to containers for holding pills, such as pill boxes carried by individuals, and more particularly to a pill dispenser having a plurality of compartments for allocating a number of pills to be dispensed at different hours of the day.
Pill boxes are essentially any containers for holding a supply of pills. Initially, when the pills are purchased at the pharmacy or a drug store, the pills are contained in a large container which cannot be too conveniently carried on the person of an individual. Since only a few pills are required to be taken daily, there is available on the market any number of small pill boxes which are generally decorated to present a pleasing effect. One of the problems associated with taking pills from such pill boxes at prescribed times of the day is that the individual may underdose or overdose, because of memory lapses. For example, if an individual is to take a pill at noon, the individual may not take the pill at that time, thinking that the pill was already taken, whereas it was not. Or the individual, a short time, after noon, may have forgotten that the pill was already taken at noon and mistakenly takes another pill, being under the impression that the pill was not taken at the proper time.
To overcome the foregoing lapses in timing in taking medication, there is presently available a container which was designed to dispense medications over the entire week. In other words, the container possesses 7 compartments associated with the weekdays, each compartment provided with an individual cover which can be opened to remove the pills in a particular compartment associated with a particular day in the week. However, the foregoing does not solve the problem of an individual who has to take a number of pills at prescribed times during a single day.
There is a need for a pill dispenser to be used by people who are required for medical reasons to take medications at regular specified times throughout the day. To attain the most benefit from such medication, it is essential that the medication be taken in a proper dose and at a proper time. For example, a person afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis is required to take an anti-inflammatory drug and an analgesic drug, as many as 48 pills a day, for the reduction of inflammation and alleviation of pain. Persons affected by myasthenia gravis are required to take a specific drug every 3 hours to prevent serious muscle weakness. On the other hand, patients with seizures are required to take medications generally 6 times a day to control their seizures. The Parkinsonian patient medications are titrated as many as 10 times a day to control movement disorders. Kidney and other organ transplant patients are required to take as many as 18 pills a day to meet their medical and post-surgical needs.
There is an urgent need for a device to assist the aged and invalid patients in taking their prescribed medications at particular times. Particularly, there is a need for such a pill dispenser to assist the nurses who provide services through the Home Health Care Plan, wherein the aged and the invalid patients are confined to their homes and are visited by such nurses. During this type of ministration, it is quite helpful for the nurse to arrange the various pills in a pill dispenser and then leave it with the patient for self-treatment until the next daily visit by the nurse to the patient.